Spiritual COVID

Wayne Kniffen

Description

Every church is not the Lord’s church, but the legitimate church is waking up—and miracles, signs, and wonders will appear to those who believe.
Every church is not the Lord’s church, but the legitimate church is waking up—and miracles, signs, and wonders will appear to those who believe.
God is going to take those of us who want to participate to zones where the Holy Spirit is our only comfort. The supernatural is going to become natural to those who have the audacity to believe and to those who expect it.
Steeped in Scripture, this book seeks to answer questons such as:
• Have we turned the church into something it wasn’t meant to be?
• Should we be more interested in gathering and keeping people or in releasing and sending them out?
• What is our motivation for reaching more people?
The author contends that most churches are spending more time, energy, and resources on building bigger crowds. Absolutely nothing is wrong with that if your intent is to help members cultivate their faith so they can then share it with others.
However, far too many churches are focused on attracting bigger crowds, building bigger buildings, and buying more land than sending people out to share their faith with a lost and dying world.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Spiritual Growth
• Christian Living
• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 01 août 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798385000142
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

SPIRITUAL COVID
 
The Legitimate Church Is Waking Up
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
WAYNE KNIFFEN
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright © 2023 Wayne Kniffen.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
Scriptures marked as NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked TPT are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018, 2020 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.
 
Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
 
ISBN: 979-8-3850-0012-8 (sc)
ISBN: 979-8-3850-0013-5 (hc)
ISBN: 979-8-3850-0014-2 (e)
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 07/27/2023
 
 
 
 
 
This book is dedicated to the memory of
Dr. John H. Beard
(a.k.a. Brother Johnny)
Brother Johnny had a positive influence on my life and on many young preacher boys. Brother Johnny help me work through my Vietnam experience; he baptized me; he gave me invaluable counsel when I surrendered my life to the gospel ministry, and he ordained me when I was called to my first pastorate. He was always available and willing to listen no matter what time of day or night. Brother Johnny put his thumbprint on a lot of people, especially young preacher boys.
What he left will continue to live on. I am determined to do the same.
“Thank you, Beloved.”
CONTENTS
Preface
 
Chapter 1     Spiritual COVID Syndrome
Chapter 2     A Glimpse of the Last-Season Church
Chapter 3     A Season of Expectation
Chapter 4     The Church Is Waking Up
Chapter 5     Resurgence of the Small Home Church
Chapter 6     Lessons From Uganda
Chapter 7     Immunity from Spiritual COVID
Chapter 8     The Most Dangerous Warning Sign of All
 
About the Author
PREFACE
During the summer of 2018, I noticed several places in my front yard where the grass was dying. These dead spots seemed to be expanding exponentially. After a considerable amount of time meditating on my lawn problem, I came up with a plan to deal with this growing cancer. I would continue to irrigate my yard by using the sprinkler system, then I would take the water hose and saturate each dead spot with water. One day as I was soaking these dead spots of grass with vengeance, these words went off in my spirit: Water what’s alive, and it will overtake what has died . I remember the aha moment that flashed through my spirit as if it were yesterday. I knew these words had more significance than just watering dead spots in my front yard where the grass was not growing. I just did not know how much more.
Water what is alive, and it will overtake what has died. It would be advantageous for us to pay attention to these instructions because we spend an inordinate amount of time, energy, and resources watering lifeless spots in our lives that seemingly have died. We have convinced ourselves that if we can get enough water applied to these areas, things will come to life again. What we need to do is give our attention to watering what is alive and thriving in our lives. If we will do this, it will not be long before what is alive will begin to overtake what has died. Life will always overpower death.
I am so thankful that I shared this aha moment with my wife. I also shared it with a good pastor friend of mine and with my Tuesday morning pastor’s group. When these words went off in my spirit, I knew it was a now word . I just did not know how now it was! It is the key that unlocks the prophetic vision I received a year later. This is why I am so thankful I went on record and shared it when it happened.
A prophetic vision was given to me on January 28, 2019. I saw a large area that had been devastated by fire. My total focus was on the trees and vegetation that had been destroyed. I remember having feelings of deep sadness as I looked at the charred debris left by the fire. As I stood there gazing at the destruction, I heard these words in my innermost being: “Don’t focus on what has been burned (sounds familiar). If you do, the enemy wins. Pay attention to the green, lush, new life emerging. This was not a wildfire; it was a controlled burn. What has been burned are the things in which you have found security. A new is arising. Out of the old, the new is springing up. What has been burned is making way for the new that could not be seen before the fire. The new has always been there. The old has prepared you for the new, which will be your final and most productive season. The fire is what I have allowed to release your passion, compulsion, zeal, creativity, and motivation. The loss the fire caused has released you to do what I have had in mind for you since the beginning of time. It took the fire to get your undivided attention. Because it was a controlled burn, the real you has not suffered loss. This was not a wildfire.”
My preaching ministry began in August 1973 at the age of twenty-five. That was fifty years ago. I am now seventy-four years young. Some people who used to be my friends have told me that I am now the same age as old people: Maybe so, maybe not. There is one thing for sure; I am in my last season in this physical realm. It has been an incredibly productive one too, just like the Lord said it would be. In a period of two-and-a-half-years, He has helped me write twelve books. This was accomplished while we were in the middle of a COVID pandemic that has not only affected the United States; it has touched the entire globe. It would be hard to find anybody who does not know somebody who has not been infected or affected by this virus. I think my choice of words to describe this season that we find ourselves in right now would be: weird. When you think things cannot get any weirder, they do.
I am convinced this COVID fire is part and parcel of the controlled burn I saw in my prophetic vision. Our natural response is to lock in on what has been destroyed by fire and not see the new that is emerging because of the fire. What has been burned is making way for the new that could not be seen before the burn. Out of the old the new is springing up. I firmly believe that we have entered the greatest season of our lives. In no way am I making light of people’s personal losses, especially the loss of life that so many have experienced. That is heart-wrenching. I have preached memorial services during this pandemic where family members were not allowed to attend their own loved one’s service. It is not natural when a wife cannot attend the funeral service of her husband and vice versa.
My wife and I have experienced our share of loss during this season as well. At times we have struggled to stay on our feet. With the help of the Holy Spirit and the sensitive hearts of dear friends, we are still standing. We know firsthand what Paul meant when he said, “I know things will turn out okay for me through the provision of the Spirit and the prayers of the Saints” (Philippians 1:19; my personal paraphrase).
What is true in our personal lives is also true in the life of the church. Today the church can rise and be everything God intended for it to be. A controlled burn is going on within the church. This controlled burn is not to destroy the church, because the church cannot be destroyed, but to release the church to be what the Lord had in mind since the beginning. It has taken the fire to get our undivided attention. The true church is rising in power and with purpose. The church may be in its final season here on the earth, but more can be accomplished in these last days than we can imagine. We just need to be aware of what is going on and redeem the time.
What Joseph said to his brothers is appropriate for this season in which we find ourselves. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20 NLT). Whatever the enemy uses in his attempt to destroy us, God uses to deliver us. Everything the enemy uses in his effort to weaken us God uses to strengthen us. The body of Christ is not only rising; the church is coming alive in the power of its true identity.
During this pandemic, many people who have struggled with this potentially fatal disease have had to be intubat